Trash Talk: Being Thrifty

For the past several weeks we have a new favorite television show, and it’s one we watch at work. We’ve been watching citizens use the Brosville Convenience Center, and we’ve noticed a common problem – many citizens are leaving large pieces of furniture outside of the open top boxes that they belong in, only for staff to have to come through and throw them into the boxes.

The intent behind this practice is pure: folks want to share perfectly good household items with those that may have a use for these otherwise perfectly acceptable items. These thrift items have value….one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. To help with the exchange, Pittsylvania County is getting into the recycling of thrift goods.

Our plan is to eventually accept thrift items at several of our convenience centers. From there we will take the goods to the Pittsylvania Pet Center where they will be resold as a fundraiser for animal care. The Pet Center staff is excited about this new thrift store concept and will begin taking items on-site beginning on Monday, August 20. All of the proceeds for that store would go directly to helping animals right here in Pittsylvania County – and will save tax dollars in the long run. We hope that this will make a great change for both the human and animals who live in Pittsylvania County.

Until we are able to retrofit our sites with thrift collection stations, we hope you will take advantage of the Pet Center’s on-site acceptance. We ask you not to leave thrift items in front of our dumpsters or open-top boxes.

Leaving items outside the dumpsters only means that they will get thrown away by someone else. If you think that someone else could use these items, then take them to the Pet Center or a local donation center like Salvation Army, Goodwill or Habitat for Humanity. There are thrift stores in both the city and county that would accept these items. In fact, you might even be able to get a tax deduction for your donations if you do this and get a little money back from the government.

In the coming weeks, we will be reviewing options are for building a space at some of our convenience centers specifically for these donations like this. This will make your life easier because you won’t have to lift it into a dumpster, and our lives easier because we don’t have to move it more than once!

If you’re bored at home and want to join us in watching the Brosville Convenience Center, you can! Visit http://pittsylvanialandfill.com and click “Brosville Camera” in the menu. It’s strangely addicting, and there’s a complaint form right there for you to fill out and hit send on!

It will also make our employees’ lives significantly easier, which is something we should always aim for. We are still actively hiring for site attendants to help residents navigate the convenience centers. If you think you might be interested, I would encourage you to apply.

Finally, here’s my question for you, which I am asking at the end of each article I write. Is there something you’d like to see us change? Do you have suggestions for what we should add to our convenience centers to make your experience better? We want to know!